NICOLA LISLE talks to the director and cast of Opera della Luna's HMS Pinafore as they prepare for the Oxford Playhouse

A ship that is assembled in front of the audience. An exceptionally seasick Sir Joseph. Principals doubling as chorus. It could only be Opera della Luna, and indeed these are just some of the hallmarks of the company's sparkling, witty and fast-paced production of HMS Pinafore, which drops anchor at the Oxford Playhouse this month.

Appropriately, this Pinafore had its genesis on board the QE2, where it had to be contained within a one-hour production.

Since then, director Jeff Clarke has expanded it to somewhere near its normal length and it has become one of the company's most popular and widely-toured shows. It's also the one least likely to upset the G&S purists, with its traditional set and costumes.

But in true Opera della Luna style, it is performed with a reduced cast of eight, which has necessitated some changes to the score and libretto.

"In Pinafore there's a huge number of lines you can cut without affecting the plot or the character," said Jeff. "We also had to alter the Act 2 finale, but I've always felt that the original finale is too long anyway, so we came up with a more energetic, tighter finale.

"We reprise the Act 1 finale, with the men doing hornpipes and then polka-ing, because it's just more spirited music."

The extraordinary set was the brainchild of designer Graham Wynne, of Changing Rooms fame. Like Gilbert himself, Jeff and Graham visited the HMS Victory at Portsmouth and copied some of the details to give the set an authentic feel.

"It starts off very black, and then gradually turns into the ship," Jeff explains. "It's representation is very effective - you do very much have the feel of the ship. It's nothing like the old D'Oyly Carte with the traditional painted backcloth and poop deck. But it works."

For the costumes, Jeff was inspired by the French painter James Tissot, who became renowned for his paintings of Victorian society.

"There's a very famous set of paintings of ladies being entertained by officers on ships. In this production, Hebe wears a striped dress, which is a complete copy of a dress in a Tissot painting."

As always, Jeff has lined up a cast of experienced performers, most of whom are more accustomed to playing in full-scale productions in larger theatres.

Simon Butteriss and Oliver White, for example, who play Sir Joseph and Ralph Rackstraw respectively, have played these roles in Buxton for the Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, and recently completed a large-scale tour of America with Carl Rosa, often playing to audiences of 5,000. So what's the appeal for them, I wondered, in performing with a reduced company in mid-scale theatres?

"I think Jeff does his adaptations with such skill and such love for the style that I don't feel he's in any way doing a pared-down version," Simon said. "Pinafore is probably his most conventional of all his adaptations, but it's still done with wit and a twinkle. And it's delightful playing these pieces in smaller venues. The immediacy works extremely well."

"There's a greater sense of camaraderie and ensemble with a smaller group," adds Oliver. "Often in a large-scale performance with a larger company you don't get the same sort of interplay with everybody.

"Every single member of Opera della Luna's company is vitally important to it. Just because you may be playing the lead tenor role, doesn't mean that you are a principal in comparison to somebody else. That's the main thing - you actually play it as an ensemble."

It must be more demanding than a conventional production, I suggest to Oliver. "In a way it is. I'm having to sing a lot of chorus in this, so it's much, much harder work, but it's more rewarding, and it's much easier to keep the momentum and concentration going."

A newcomer to the company for this show is Fiona Hammacott, who plays Josephine, a role she has sung with Kentish Opera.

"I haven't done anything quite like this before," she admits with a laugh. "To me, it's such a clever, original production, and there's nothing lacking with the chorus gone. I think the slickness makes it incredibly entertaining to watch.

"All the other singers are incredibly experienced Gilbert and Sullivan singers, so I'm really learning from them."

Also in the cast are ODL regulars Louise Crane, Martin George, Ian Belsey and Philip Cox, as well as another newcomer, Carolyn Allen, who played Edith in the Broadway version of Pirates of Penzance at Drury Lane with Pamela Stephenson and Bonnie Langford, and now takes on Hebe.

"If people are fans of G&S and want to see a performance that isn't unfaithful to the original intent of the show, but want to see it with a new twist and a certain joie de vivre, they should give Opera della Luna a whirl," said Oliver. "It's a small company and a small orchestra, but the show's energy and pizzazz make up for that in spades."

HMS Pinafore is at the Oxford Playhouse on October 17 and 18. For tickets, call 01865 305305.